How a homeless man and a homeless dog saved each other

To look at them, it’s hard to know who saved whom. The middle-aged man and the young pup.

Demetrius Lonberger spent two years living on the street, addicted to drugs and alcohol. Dolly, a 4-year-old boxer-retriever-labrador mix, was also found on the street, abused and abandoned.

If ever two living things needed each other, Demetrius and Dolly did.

“I was homeless, she was homeless, and now we have each other. She's meant everything to me,” the 54-year-old longtime laborer said, as he scratched the pup's ears and gave her a kiss on the nose.

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Today, he and his four-legged roommate live in a furnished one-bedroom apartment at Penn Place, a full-service residential facility for the formerly homeless. But it was a journey to get here.

Lonberger, a client of Horizon House, was one of the first people to move into the building at 14th and Pennsylvania streets a year ago.

It should have been a happy time for him, and it was good to get off the street, he said, but he was undergoing treatment for cancer and suffering from depression. He was lonely.

When a staff member at Penn Place learned of his love for dogs, she suggested he consider adopting one from the Humane Society.

His first meeting with Dolly didn't go too well, he said. She was standoffish, unsure whether she could trust him. She did, however, nibble treats from his hand. Staff told him Dolly was house-trained and had a laid-back personality to match his own.

Lonberger was smitten. The very next day, he returned, convinced she was the dog for him. She apparently had had time to think about it as well and let her tail do the talking.

"That second time I saw her, she was waiting for me," he said. "I think she had a sense I was lonely."

Ever since, the two have been inseparable. She sprawls across Lonberger when he sits on the sofa, carves out a spot beside him in his bed each night and wakes him every morning.

"She's my companion; we're together 24/7 unless I have to go to the doctor," he said. "She keeps me smiling, keeps me focused."

And it's that wake-up dance she does in the morning that gets him out of bed.

"I have to get up and take care of her. She's like a kid. I've got to walk her every morning, make sure she has fresh water and food, play fetch. She's good at fetch."

Penn Place case manager Kelsey Kennedy has watched as the two have bonded. "He's definitely happier now," she said. "I think it's pretty obvious that animals bring joy."

But more than that, they bring purpose, she said, giving Lonberger a reason to get up every day and serving as a buffer when interacting with others.

"She has friends all over the building," Lonberger says with a laugh that comes easily these days. Since swearing off alcohol, drugs and cigarettes after he was diagnosed with colon cancer, he has been able to re-establish a relationship with family, including his mom and a daughter. It doesn't hurt that they love Dolly, too.

For her part, Dolly seems to have found her person: quick to come running when he calls; happy to lounge with him as he watches TV; helpfully reminding him to take his medicine. At least that's what he thinks she's doing when she stands in front of the bottles of pills on the counter. She might just be sniffing the trashcan, he says, laughing again.

Dolly sometimes has panic attacks at night, Lonberger said. He thinks it's a result of the abuse she suffered as a pup. She was found wandering the streets near I-465 and Washington Street on the east side, he said.

"She shakes real bad; she clings to me. I just talk to her and rub her, then she calms down. I'm learning how to calm her down."

One thing he hasn't been able to help her with is her fear of thunderstorms. She hops into the bathtub or heads to a closet, where Lonberger has put a pillow for her.

After living on the streets, Lonberger understands Dolly's anxiety issues.

"Sometimes it's hard to trust people, especially out on the street because they either want to rip you off or use you one way or another," he said. "With her, it's easy. She just wants you to love her."

Dolly has a birthday coming up in May; she'll be 5. Lonberger knows the staff and residents of Penn Place will spoil her with treats and maybe a new ball to chase.

"She's chewed up all her toys," he said, shaking his head.

But she leaves his shoes alone.

"She's a good dog."

Call IndyStar reporter Maureen Gilmer at (317) 444-6879. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.